Kismet
by bbdollz
Summary: This story takes place in an AU. Christopher and Lorelai are married, Rory's their only child, and they're rich. What if a business deal brings them back to Hartford? C/L and R/T
1. The Beginning

Rory Gilmore stood on her balcony, her eyes fixated on the many colors that the sun casted along the beach. The different shades of purple, orange, and pink brought out the rosiness of her cheeks and the reddish streaks in her hair. Her years of basking in the California sunlight gave her skin a sunkissed appearance. She looked as if she just walked out of a sunless tanning commercial.   
  
Rory let out a sigh as she watched the last ray of light disappear beneath the ocean. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, turned, and walked back into her room, leaving the screen open to catch the ocean summer breeze.   
  
"I love living by the ocean," Rory voiced out loud as she flopped onto her bed. Her mother, Lorelai, had decided to move out here with her father, Christopher, when she was seven years old. Her father had started a computer company shortly before they arrived, and made millions over the years from the business.   
  
Rory turned over onto her stomach and let her gaze fall upon the picture frames lined up on her desk. There was one her standing with her mother and father at Disneyland; each person had a hat with some Disney character on the front perched on their heads. The next one was of them standing at their other home in Hartford during Christmas years ago, snow was covering every inch of the ground. The last frame held a picture of all of them a fair that took place a few weeks ago on the pier.   
  
A knock on the door brought Rory back to reality. "It's open," Rory casually said as she looked away from the pictures and stood to greet the person.   
  
"Rory, honey, it's time for dinner," Lorelai said as she popped her head into the room.   
  
"Please don't tell me you tried to cook once again since dad left for his business trip."   
  
Lorelai let out a mischievous smile at Rory's comment before she turned and headed for the kitchen.   
  
A groan escaped Rory's lips as she followed her mom out of the door. "It's not your pancake surprise this time, is it? Because if it is, I'm going to be forced to call the police."   
  
"My pancake surprise is a universal dish. You can eat it anywhere, anytime," Lorelai stated matter-of-factly while pulling various dishes out of their respective positions in the cupboards.   
  
"Mom, do you want me to remind you of what happened last time you made me that?" Rory questioned as she helped Lorelai set the table.   
  
"How dare you say that about my cooking!" Lorelai replied sarcastically as she put her hand across Rory's forehead. "I think that the sun is affecting your thought process."  
  
Rory gave her mother a look before she went back to the task of setting the table.  
  
*  
  
"Hey dad!" Rory exclaimed excitedly the next morning as she bounded down the stairs. Christopher stood at the kitchen entryway, a small smile playing at his lips when he saw Rory's happy demeanor.   
  
"I thought your plane wasn't due until seven tonight?" Rory said as she engulfed her father in a hug.   
  
Christopher smiled and untangled himself out of his daughters grasp. "So, did your mom poison you with her cooking while I was gone?"   
  
Rory laughed and opened her mouth to answer when Lorelai's voice came floating down the stairs. "Hey, I heard that!"   
  
Rory rolled her eyes when Lorelai appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She walked up to Christopher and jabbed her finger into his chest. "When you come home unexpected, it's not nice to make fun of your wife's cooking."   
  
"What, no hug?" Christopher asked innocently as he held out his hands for Lorelai.   
  
Lorelai shook her head and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. "No hug."   
  
Rory smiled at her parents before grabbing them both by the arms and pulling them into the kitchen. "C'mon you guys, I'm starving. And, seeing how dad is the only one who has mastered the art form of cooking, I suggest you start working on that stove."   
  
*  
  
"So, why are you home early?" Lorelai asked while sprinkling some salt onto her eggs.   
  
Christopher set his fork down onto his plate before, dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin before looking Lorelai in the eye. "It turns out that if I want to close the deal, it is going to take a lot longer then we thought."   
  
"Which means..."   
  
"Which means that we are going to have to relocate for the summer."  
  
"Wait, relocate? Where?" Rory asked, her hand still hovering in the air after taking a bite of her breakfast.  
  
"Ok, before you both protest, hear me out. We would be moving to a place we are all familiar with. We even have a second home there."  
  
"Hartford?" Lorelai asked softly as she thought about her parents. "We haven't been back there for six years Christopher."  
  
Christopher sighed and leaned against the back of his chair. Running a hand through his hair, he looked from his wife to his daughter and back. "I know that we haven't been there for a few years, but this would be a great business move, and Rory would be able to spend time with her grandparents outside of a holiday."  
  
No one spoke after that statement. Lorelai looked at her food, running her fork through the eggs every now and then. Christopher sat with his elbows on the table, his eyes focusing on every item in the room except for his wife and daughter. Rory just sat, trying to remember what Hartford looked like when it wasn't Christmas time.   
  
"Well, I guess it would be nice to see Grandma and Grandpa when they're not bundled up to their necks in coats," Rory said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that was about to engulf them all.   
  
Lorelai smiled at Rory's comment before looking at Christopher. "I guess I can survive a few months in Hartford. But, there better be a Starbucks located in close vicinity to our home."  
  



	2. Hartford...

"God, dad, next time we decide to fly across the country, remind me to remind you not to book a nonstop flight," Rory said as she tried to stand, her voice laced with exhaustion.   
  
"Yes, listen to the young one," Lorelai declared, while trying to reach her bag on the floor. "Six hours, no coffee, bad combination."  
  
Christopher chuckled at the sight before him. Rory was struggling to get past Lorelai, who was blocking the aisle in search of her bag. At the sound of Christopher's laughter, both Lorelai and Rory gave him a look that would have froze hell over. Christopher stopped mid-laugh and bent over to help Lorelai retrieve her bag.   
  
"Mom, at this rate, we'll never make it off the plane," Rory said jokingly as Lorelai struggled to stand after Christopher handed her the bag. Lorelai mumbled something about dead men and coffee before pulling herself towards the exit. Shaking her head, Rory followed suit with her dad in tow.   
  
*  
  
"Well," Lorelai said as she dropped her bags to the floor and surveyed her surroundings, "looks like I forgot how big this house really is."   
  
Rory stood next to her mom, her own bags falling to the ground as she tried to take in the size of the house. "Wow, and I thought that our beachfront home was big. This...this is huge."  
  
"So, where's dad?" Lorelai asked while slowly turning to face her daughter.   
  
"He said that he was going to stop by Starbucks to get us a few gallons of coffee."   
  
"Smart man."   
  
"I agree."   
  
Lorelai turned back around, letting her gaze fall upon the very tasteful spiraling staircase that led to the upper level of the mansion. Grabbing onto Rory's arm, Lorelai pulled her across the hall. "C'mon, we got some exploring to do."   
  
*  
  
Rory awoke with a start the next morning. After her three cups of coffee last night, she was surprised that she was able to fall asleep. Sitting up in bed, Rory stretched out her arms and yawned. Shaking the last remainder of sleep from her head, Rory slowly threw the covers of her small form and trudged to the bathroom.   
  
After Rory finished her morning routine, she walked over to the window located on the east side of her bedroom and pulled the curtains apart. The smile that was playing at her lips quickly faded when she saw what she believed to be the sunrise.   
  
Letting out a disappointed sigh, Rory made her way out of her bedroom. Just as she was about to walk down the stairs, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and banana nut muffins greeted her. Taking in a deep breath, Rory let out a content sigh and quickened her pace.   
  
Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, Rory didn't know which direction to take. The hallway tapered off in three wings: North, West, and East. Letting out an aggravated groan, Rory decided to go north, but to her disappointment, there was no kitchen.   
  
Rory searched wing after wing for the kitchen, but her efforts were to no avail. Defeated, she turned towards the direction she came from and walked back to the bottom of the stairs. The coffee aroma was still tickling her nose, and Rory was in frantic need for her coffee fix. 'Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?' Rory thought to herself as she climbed the steps back up to the second floor. "Dad, where are you!" She screamed at the top of her lungs while pacing the hallway.   
  
Lorelai, hearing Rory's scream, was shook out of her slumber. Startled, she fell off the bed and quickly ran to open to door. "Jesus, you sure know how to wake someone up."   
  
"I can't find the kitchen."   
  
"Look for a map." Rory stopped mid stride, gave her mother a look, and resumed her pacing. "Why did you have to yell from the top of the stairs?"   
  
"Better acoustics."   
  
Walking up next to her daughter, Lorelai paced right along side with her. "And, did you get a response?"   
  
"Only the sound of your thud when you fell out of bed."   
  
Lorelai pouted and rubbed her arm when Rory reminded her of her less then graceful awakening. "Why exactly are you looking for the kitchen?"  
  
"Coffee."   
  
Lorelai's facial expression brightened at the mention of her favorite drink. "Why didn't you tell me before? Where is your father, he needs to direct us to the kitchen. Christopher!" Lorelai exclaimed before bounding down the stairs.  
  
Rory smiled at her mom's sudden interest in her search for the kitchen. Shaking her head, she quickly followed her mom down the stairs.   
  
*  
  
Fifteen minutes and a few games of Marco Polo later, the Gilmore girls were able to find their way to the kitchen, which was located inside the dining room in the West Wing. Exhausted from their search, both Lorelai and Rory grabbed a mug from Christopher and plopped down onto a stool.   
  
"So, what took you guys so long?" Christopher asked as he joined Lorelai and Rory on the stools. "I thought that your noses would carry you to where the coffee was resting."  
  
"My nose did carry me places," Rory replied as she took another sip from her mug, "it carried me down this hallway, twice."   
  
"Well, it's nice to know that you have no sense of direction," Christopher joked as he stood and put his empty mug in the sink before turning around to face his daughter and wife. "Yesterday, when I was waiting for the coffee at Starbucks, I ran into some interesting people."   
  
"Who?" Lorelai asked, even though her attention span was fading quickly from this subject.   
  
"The Dugrey's. They asked us to join them for a round of golf today at the club."   
  
"You mean the country club?" Rory asked, getting up to grab a muffin from the counter.  
  
"The one and only."   
  
"You declined the invitation, right?" Lorelai asked, the question coming out harsher then she intended.   
  
Christopher bit his lower lip, a habit of his when he got nervous. "Well, I couldn't say no."   
  
Lorelai stood, her mouth hanging open, and began pacing around the kitchen. "But, you know how Reneé and I do not get along," Lorelai stated as she quickened her pace. "You know how she gossiped behind my back once she learned that I was pregnant."  
  
"I know, but you have to put the past aside," Christopher said sympathetically as he reached out for Lorelai. He hugged her to him, tucking her head below his chin. "But, look on the bright side, at least your husband wasn't forced to marry you to expand the family business."  
  
Lorelai smiled into Christopher's chest when she heard his remark. Pulling away, she looked into his eyes and smiled. "I guess I'll go. But, Rory's coming with us."   
  
"What?" Rory said, shock evident in her voice. "I don't even know how to golf."   
  
"That won't be a problem," Christopher said, pulling Rory over to where he and Lorelai stood, "the Dugrey's son will be joining them. You two can get to know one another instead of golfing with us old folk."  
  
Rory lowered her head onto her mom and dad's shoulders before nodding. "Fine, but you owe me an unlimited supply of coffee, and a map of this house."   
  
Chuckling, Christopher nodded. "Deal."   



End file.
